Iran says it ‘immediately’ activated new, advanced centrifuges after IAEA censure
Parliament speaker says Western-backed resolution abuses UN watchdog; Tehran set to hold talks with European powers Friday
Iran has begun to activate several new and advanced centrifuges for uranium enrichment in reaction to a resolution by the UN’s nuclear watchdog censuring the Islamic Republic, its parliament speaker said Sunday.
At a session of the Majles, Iran’s parliament, Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf slammed the resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors and said Iran had followed through on its threat to turn on the advanced enrichment machines.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s reciprocal response to this political misuse of the Board of Governors was immediately put into action, and the deployment of a set of new and advanced centrifuges has begun,” he said, according to quotes reported by Iran International.
Activating new centrifuges further advances Iran’s nuclear program, which already enriches uranium at near-weapons-grade levels and boasts a stockpile enough for several nuclear bombs if it chooses to pursue them. The IAEA last announced in June that Iran had begun spinning new centrifuges, and planned to deploy more.
The IAEA resolution approved on Thursday was proposed by Britain, France, Germany, and the United States, and requires the IAEA to produce a “comprehensive and updated assessment” of Iran’s nuclear activities, which could eventually trigger a referral to the UN Security Council to consider more sanctions on Tehran.
It came on the heels of a confidential report last week in which the IAEA said Iran has defied international demands to rein in its nuclear program.
That report, seen by the AP on Tuesday, said that as of October 26, Iran had accumulated 182.3 kilograms (401.9 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60 percent, an increase of 17.6 kilograms (38.8 pounds) since the last IAEA report in August. Uranium enriched at 60% purity is just a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.
Meanwhile, Iran plans to hold talks about its disputed nuclear program with three European powers on November 29 in Geneva, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported on Sunday.
Kyodo said Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s government was seeking a solution to the nuclear impasse ahead of the inauguration in January of US President-elect Donald Trump.
A senior Iranian official confirmed that the meeting would go ahead next Friday, adding that “Tehran has always believed that the nuclear issue should be resolved through diplomacy. Iran has never left the talks.”
A spokesperson for the Swiss foreign ministry directed questions to the countries named in the report.
US, allies urge Iran to reengage with diplomacy
The United States, Britain, France, and Germany on Saturday expressed “serious concern” about the plans to launch new centrifuges, and urged Tehran to reengage with the UN nuclear watchdog.
“We expect Iran to reengage on the path of dialogue and cooperation with the agency,” the four nations said in a joint statement released by the US State Department.
“At the same time, technical and safeguards cooperation with the IAEA will continue, as in the past” and within the framework of agreements made by Tehran, said a joint statement from Iran’s foreign ministry and its atomic energy organization.
In 2018, the then-Trump administration exited Iran’s 2015 nuclear pact with six major powers and reimposed harsh sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to violate the pact’s nuclear limits, with moves such as rebuilding stockpiles of enriched uranium, refining it to higher fissile purity and installing advanced centrifuges to speed up output.
Indirect talks between President Joe Biden’s administration and Tehran to try to revive the pact have failed. Trump said in his election campaign in September, “We have to make a deal because the consequences are impossible. We have to make a deal.”
